By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippies — Two members of the Filipino gaming console forum PinoyXbox were named the Philippines’ Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVP).

The husband-and-wife moderators of PinoyXbox, Philip and Joanne Ortiz, will join the ranks of 20 other Filipino MVPs, a recognition given to the best Microsoft professionals and advocates.

In a letter to the PinoyXbox forum, Microsoft Philippines Technology Specialist Jojo Ayson said the Ortizes were recognized under the Xbox MVP category, which gives recognition to people who made significant contributions in the promotion of the Xbox gaming platform.

There are now a total of three gamers from the Philippines who have been awarded with MVP titles, Ayson said.

Overall, there are only 42 Xbox MVPs worldwide, excluding the Ortizes, and 16 awardees for the category of “Games for Windows MVPs.”

Ayson said MVPs are given certain privileges, including exclusive access to special websites that feature early releases of Microsoft products, and subscription to software support.

“In the case of Philip and Joanne, it could be game titles or some products related to the Xbox 360,” Ayson said, citing the experience of Rodriguez who gets new Microsoft PC games.

The MVP title is refreshed every year, which means all MVPs will have to continuously update their blogs and forum presence.

“Remember that this award comes after the fact that the awardees have been advocates of Microsoft products. They have to continue promoting their passion for these products,” Ayson said.

Philip Ortiz told hackenslash that their MVP status is a rare opportunity that recognizes their efforts in promoting gaming in the country.

He added that it could be a step towards the country bring recognized as a potential market for Xbox games.

“Perhaps Microsoft would finally bring the Xbox as a product in the Philippines. It may not start with the Xbox 360 but perhaps when the next Xbox comes,” Ortiz said.

Incidentally, a PC gamer, Adrian Rodirguez (Deadaimgames.spaces.live.com), was awarded as MVP for his PC gaming advocacy.

By Agence France-Presse

SAN FRANCISCO–Microsoft said Sunday it is cutting the price of its 20-gigabyte Xbox 360 video game consoles and rolling out a model with three times the memory space to take its place.

The US technology giant’s announcement comes two days before the official start of a major Electronic Entertainment Expo at which video game console makers will be striving to portray their hardware as superior.

Microsoft said it will trim $50 from Xbox 360 models with 20 gigabytes in the United States or Canada, cutting prices to $299.

An upgraded Xbox 360 Pro model with 60 gigabytes of memory will hit markets in those same two countries in August with $349 price tags, according to the Redmond, Washington-based firm.

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